The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation) or GIZ is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works with states, state agencies, and the private sector. Its headquarters are located in Bonn and Eschborn, Germany.[1] The organisation was established on 1 January 2011 through a merger of the three German organisations Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), and Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung (InWEnt).[2]

With a turnover of € 2.1 billion in 2012, some € 1.87 billion came from projects and programmes for public clients, such as the BMZ, other German federal ministries or the EU. Roughly 90 percent of GIZ's turnover was under contracts from the German Federal Government. The GIZ made 18.7 percent (€ 230 million) in 2012 from contracts from other clients such as financing institutions or private sector companies. € 956 million of its turnover have been channeled through to third-party-consultancies.

As of 2012, GIZ has about 16,229 employees working in more than 130 countries, including about 1,900 at its head offices in Eschborn (near Frankfurt am Main) and Bonn. About 70 percent of its staff are local employees in the partner countries.[4]

The GIZ main activities in its partner countries are focusing on sustainable development and resource management:[5]

Economic Development and Employment (including services such as vocational training, economic policy advice, financial systems development or private sector promotion)

Government, Democracy and Poverty Reduction (including services and working fields such as development-oriented emergency aid, peace building and crisis prevention, governance, sustainable urban development or structural poverty reduction)

Education, Health and Social Security (including working fields such as education, development-oriented drug control, promotion of children and young people or HIV/AIDS prevention)

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (including services such as coastal zone management, land management, market-oriented farming and food systems, policy advice on agriculture and rural development or securing livelihoods in marginal rural areas)

GIZ has been involved in the creation of various networks, associations and portals, and may carry out or support secretariat functions for some of these for a limited period of time. Examples of such networks and associations that have had some GIZ involvement include: